BCCI to conduct inquiry into spot-fixing

The Board of Control for Cricket in India said on Sunday it will wait for a verdict from its disciplinary committee before taking any action against three players arrested for alleged spot-fixing in the ongoing Indian Premier League tournament.

"We've asked (BCCI anti-corruption chief) Ravi Sawani to submit a report to the disciplinary committee and if the committee says they are guilty, we will take stern action," BCCI President Narainswamy Srinivasan said during a press conference in Chennai.

"We have to observe all channels of natural justice. If the players are found guilty, we will not hesitate to act ruthlessly."

Test player Shantakumaran Sreesanth as well as Ajit Chandila and Ankeet Chavan have been provisionally suspended by the BCCI after their arrest by Delhi Police for spot-fixing, which involves performing in a pre-determined way at set times for the benefit of gamblers.

All three players represented The Rajasthan Royals team.

Srinivasan said the BCCI would bolster its discipline program but was limited in how much it could do.

"Henceforth all player agents will have to be accredited by the BCCI and an anti-corruption official will travel with each team. But we're handicapped when it comes to control over bookies. It is for the police to act, we don't have the powers," Srinivasan said.

The spot-fixing case is being investigated by Delhi Police, who claim to be in possession of phone records to prove the players are guilty of charges of cheating and criminal conspiracy.

This is not the first instance of spot-fixing in Indian cricket.

Last year, little-known allrounder TP Sudhindra was handed a life ban after he was shown in a sting operation by India TV agreeing to bowl a no-ball at a predetermined time in a local T20 game in the central Indian city of Indore.

The most high-profile case of spot-fixing in cricket occurred in 2010, when former Pakistan captain Salman Butt, and fast bowlers Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Amir were found guilty of the offence during a series in England and later served between three and seven months in prison.